


It's Beyond Your Peripheral Vision

by exmanhater



Series: 32 Flavors (And Then Some) [1]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crack, M/M, Multiple Universes Colliding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-07
Updated: 2015-03-07
Packaged: 2018-03-16 16:34:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3495314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exmanhater/pseuds/exmanhater
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The universe decides to take Jonny for a spin and teach him a lesson about his feelings. Well, make that universe<i>s</i>, as in more than one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Beyond Your Peripheral Vision

The first time Jonny wakes up naked in Patrick's bed, he assumes he's having a weird lucid dream, or possibly that his teammates have drugged him and put him there as a prank. They've never resorted to actual kidnapping before, but Jonny wouldn't put it past Sharpy to try. Patrick is in the bed as well, also naked, and Jonny knows that for a fact because Patrick is spooning him.

Jonny takes what he considers to be a reasonable course of action and shoves Patrick off of him, gets out of the bed, and borrows some boxer-briefs from Patrick's dresser. They fit remarkably well considering how much bigger Jonny's ass is than Patrick's, and when Jonny looks down at the label, he sees that they're his favorite brand, and his size.

Beginning to get a little freaked out, Jonny does a better survey of the room, noticing that Patrick's got two bedside tables now – he'd only had one last week when Jonny had been over for videogames – and the walls are a darker shade of blue. If this is a prank, then Patrick's in on it and it's more elaborate than anything Jonny's suffered through before. The new bedside table even has a picture on it, and Jonny leans in to see what it's of – and promptly falls on the floor by the bed, because the picture is of himself and Patrick, showing matching wedding rings to the camera.

"What the fuck," Jonny says from the floor, staring at the wedding ring he's now noticed on his left hand, and Patrick stirs on the bed. His head pokes over the side, staring blearily at Jonny.

"What's wrong, baby?" Patrick says, reaching out an arm (His left hand has a wedding ring, too, what the hell?), and Jonny involuntarily shies away. Why the fuck is Patrick calling him "baby?"

Patrick looks hurt and sits up. "Fine, you don't need my help, you're a big strong dude, whatever. What happened?"

"You - I - " Jonny starts, then stops. If Patrick's in on this, he's taking it really far. And if he's not in on this, it means - it means Jonny's having a psychotic break or that he's not in his own reality. Fuck, since when was there more than one reality?

Patrick's expression softens and he stands up, walking naked and completely unconcerned to the dresser to grab his own pair of boxers. "I'll make the coffee, babe," he tells Jonny, leaning down to smack a soft kiss to Jonny's cheek. "Come out when you're ready to speak in complete sentences."

Jonny's grateful for the moment of solitude. He's pretty sure that going out there to scream at Patrick for having the audacity to exist in a universe where they're married to each other would be a dick move if this Patrick really thinks Jonny's his loving husband, but that's all he can picture doing right now.

He has a sudden flash of brilliance and looks for his phone, which is plugged in and charging on the bedside table next to the disturbing picture, just where he'd keep it in his own place. His passcode is the same, at least, but the background image is a close-up of Patrick's face kissing the Stanley Cup, and uh, that's definitely different.

Jonny thumbs through his recent texts, which are mostly random conversations with Patrick about errands or hockey, and which contain the kind of teasing remarks he's pretty sure are some form of flirting when occurring between married people. He also has a conversation running with Sharpy about dogs of all things. Jonny shakes his head. Whoever his counterpart here is, he's clearly kind of dumb.

The one text string that gives him the most pause is with Erica Kane. Jonny's not on _bad_ terms with Patrick's family, but he certainly doesn't text with any of them on his own. But Erica's teasing him via text about who's going to get Patrick the best birthday present this year, and when he checks the call log, at least three of his last ten calls have been to her or Jessica.

He's - he's really married to Patrick. Or at least some version of himself is, in some other world. Jonny doesn't belong here, though, and he doesn't want to stay, but how do multiple universes even work? Jonny takes several deep breaths. Yelling is not going to help. Yelling about alternate universes is likely to get him sent to the team doctor for observation. He just needs to get through this without letting anyone know what's happening. It can't last forever, right?

Jonny takes his time getting dressed, disconcerted to find clothes that he recognizes as his in Patrick's closet. Well, he guesses it's technically _their_ closet, but it's just so strange to contemplate. When he can't avoid leaving the bedroom anymore, and the smell of coffee begins to waft down the hallway, he makes his way to the kitchen. He'll just keep his mouth shut as much as possible.

Patrick flashes a brilliant grin at him, and hands him a mug of coffee at the same time. "That was fast," he says. "Welcome to another day, Captain Grumpypants."

Jonny flushes, and takes an overly large gulp of coffee. Patrick seems to grin even wider, and Jonny just - can't take it. He looks steadily at his coffee, ignoring everything else.

Patrick doesn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary, just pulls out various breakfast foods and gets started on chopping up things for what Jonny assumes will be omelets. It's the kind of breakfast he's had many times before with Patrick, after they've spent nights at each other's places when they were too tired to head back home. This, he can do, Jonny decides, and starts helping.

He gets through the morning and the drive to practice by acting tired, which isn't much of a stretch. This Patrick seems to find Jonny's speechless act cute or something, because he just shoots fond looks Jonny's way and doesn't talk much, either.

Hockey is something Jonny can manage no matter what universe he's in, and it doesn't seem like much is different when it comes to the team. He's still the captain, and although all the guys seem to know about him and Patrick, it's not that different from any other practice.

On the way home, Patrick puts a hand on Jonny's thigh, and Jonny has to work hard to not react.

"You sure you're feeling okay?" Patrick asks. "I know you were just tired this morning, but you weren't very loud at practice, either."

"I'm fine," Jonny says, glancing quickly at Patrick and trying to smile. "I promise."

"If you say so," Patrick says, and makes Jonny stop to pick up lunch.

The afternoon passes fairly normally, with some lounging around and some videogames. The only difference is how often Patrick touches Jonny, usually a small kiss to his neck or a hand on his hip, just taking time to acknowledge Jonny when they're in the same room. Jonny's proud of himself for not flinching, but it's so strange - like and yet unlike his own world. His Patrick does the same thing, but with shoulder taps or knocking lightly at the back of Jonny's head.

He's a little worried about what to do if Patrick wants to have sex, because he's just - he can't do that, and it seems like that would be sufficiently out of character for this world's Jonny that it would seem suspicious. But the rest of the day passes without Patrick pushing for more than light kisses, and then Patrick leaves for dinner with some of the guys. He only rolls his eyes when Jonny begs out of going.

"You're having a hermit day," Patrick says, when Jonny says something about a headache. "It's okay, you don't have to lie to me, babe. Have fun, recharge, I'll see you when I get home."

Jonny smiles and closes the door behind Patrick. Fuck, he really is tired. Pretending to be another version of himself is draining, and he has no idea how long he can make this work. But now that he's alone, he should probably find out as much about this world as he can. He works through about five different Wikipedia pages (his, Patrick's, the Blackhawks team page, the NHL page, and Sidney Crosby's - what, he was curious) before he starts getting an actual headache. All the tiny details that are the same make the bigger differences seem even stranger. If he's ever gonna find a way out of here, he's gonna need to take a break now.

He heads to the bedroom and looks at the picture beside the bed again, noticing how happy he looks. It's the kind of smile he doesn't often give in public. Patrick looks incandescent with joy, looking at Jonny instead of the camera. The raw emotion in his eyes reminds Jonny of the times they've won the Cup, the way Patrick let everything he felt show on his face.

The headache is starting to throb insistently in his skull, so Jonny lies down and lets himself slip into a nap.

Jonny wakes up disoriented, looking for the phone he'd left in his pocket, and realizes that he's back in his own bed, in his own room. He scrambles up and grabs his laptop, checking his own Wikipedia page and sighing with relief when it's the one he should have, not the one he'd had in the other universe.

He's still confused - did he hallucinate the whole thing? It had felt completely real, but how could it have been?

It's the next day, when he checks the date and time, and he's only got twenty minutes to get ready to leave for morning skate, so he leaves behind his questions and focuses on the day ahead.

It was a fluke, and now he's back where he belongs, and it doesn't matter anymore.

+++

The second time Jonny wakes up naked in Patrick's bed, he's rudely shoved off without warning.

"Dude," Jonny says from the floor, because even though he's not sleeping with his own Patrick, he's still never been shoved off a bed like that by him.

Patrick stands over him, a cold sneer on his face. "What are you still doing here, fuckface? You don't usually want to spend the night. You usually disappear before your dick's even dry."

Jonny's still too disoriented to do anything - he'd woken up yesterday in his own bed, in his own universe, and he'd spent a perfectly normal day going to practice, working out, and hanging out with Patrick. It was a little weird after having spent a day playing house with some other universe's Patrick Kane, but it was Jonny's normal and he'd been grateful to have it back.

Looking up at this Patrick, who is grabbing Jonny's clothes off the floor and throwing them at him, Jonny finds himself missing the Patrick who was in love with him.

"Uh, sorry," he says, really confused. Did they not sleep together here? Does this Patrick just always kick him out after?

"Sure," Patrick says. "You're sorry you gave in and fucked me again, and I'm sorry I let you talk me into it again, and the next time you try, I'm not going to be so nice."

Jonny pulls on his clothes, feeling more upset than he thinks he should. This isn't his world, after all. It just seems - wrong, for there to be a world where Patrick hates him this much.

"Um," he says, and Patrick rolls his eyes.

"Have fun being 'straight', Jon," Patrick says, and shoves until Jonny's on his way out the front door.

Hoping that he still lives in the same place, Jonny starts walking home. He has no idea if his other self drove to Patrick's place last night or not, or if he even has the same car here, and it's not a bad walk. He finds keys in his pocket, and his wallet contains a driver's license with his name and the address he remembers. It's a different unit in the same building, and when Jon gets inside he sits down on the floor against the front door and calls Seabs.

"...Jonny?" Seabs says when he picks up.

"Uh," Jonny says, and panics. His Seabs wouldn't ever sound weird about getting a phone call from him. What if they're not close here at all?

"Hey, Jon," Seabs says in a more normal tone. "Is this about Kaner?"

Jonny freezes.

"It's just, uh, I'm at brunch with Duncs and Sharpy, and Sharpy had to go take a call from Kaner a few minutes ago. He said Kaner was crying."

Jonny swallows, and wishes he could beat this version of himself over the head. "It's - I'm apparently a dick," he says, because it's as close as he can get to the truth.

"You won't hear me arguing," Seabs says, and that, more than anything, convinces Jonny that this world is seriously fucked up. This Jonny must have done some pretty awful shit to get that kind of reaction from Seabs.

"I'm sorry," Jonny says, honestly.

Seabs sighs. "I'm not the one you should be saying that to," he says. "But don't say it unless you mean it and you're willing to see it through this time, okay?"

"Yeah," Jonny says. "I know. I will."

He says goodbye and hangs up, forcing himself to stand and move. He finds his bedroom and sinks down on the bed to think. He'd been freaked out at the thought of being married to Patrick in the first world he'd been to, but in this world he apparently wanted to be with Patrick and still wouldn't admit it or admit to being bi. If he's just going to end up back in his world tomorrow, there's not really anything he can do to make things better here. If he tells this Patrick he's sorry, his douchebag alternate self will just ruin things again. And honestly, Jonny cares about Patrick in any world, of course he does. But he's not in love with him, and maybe the best thing for this world would be for this Jonny to commit to being a good friend and leave the sex in the past.

Jonny checks the calendar on his phone to make sure he's not missing a game or practice, then hunts around for some paper and a pen. Maybe he can't do anything about how this Jonny has treated Patrick, but he can try to leave himself some good advice.

Once he's written a letter to himself, he adds a sentence at the top to prove it's really from him, an embarrassing incident at UND that hopefully still happened here in this world, and that he'd never told anyone about. He knows himself - he'll probably just throw it away and assume it's a prank - but it's the only thing he can even think to try. With that task done, Jonny realizes how tired he feels and goes back to bed for a nap. With any luck, he'll wake up at home and not in this garbage universe.

+++

The third time Jonny wakes up naked in Patrick's bed, he braces himself for whatever weird thing is going to happen next, but nothing does. The room looks like the room Jonny is used to at Patrick's place, and there are no strange pictures or wedding rings.

Patrick is asleep next to him, one leg flung over Jonny's calves and an arm over Jonny's chest. He looks peaceful, and much younger than Jonny knows he is. When Jonny shifts to get a bit more space, Patrick hums and clutches Jonny even closer. Jonny can feel Patrick's morning wood pushing against his thigh, and it's uncomfortable, but Jonny's skin feels tight and flushed. Every little shift of Patrick's skin against his makes him shiver, his own erection making it pretty difficult for Jonny to pretend this isn't turning him on.

Patrick stirs and opens his eyes. He looks up at Jonny, body stiffening when he realizes their current physical situation. "Uh," Patrick says, flushing a little. "Good morning?"

"Good morning," Jonny says, because he can't think of anything else to say. He needs this Patrick to give him some context clues before he opens his mouth and says something wrong for this universe.

Patrick's avoiding his eyes, though, and is shrinking back onto his side of the bed. Jonny reaches out without thinking and pulls him back. It seems like this is new for the Patrick of this world, and if the universe was shitty enough to send in a replacement Jonny for their first morning after, the least Jonny can do is not fuck it up.

"Hey, where're you going?" he says, instinctively running a hand down Patrick's side.

"We were pretty drunk last night," Patrick says, meeting Jonny's gaze, something like hope in his eyes. "Um, I just - "

"Not too drunk to remember," Jonny says, conveniently omitting the fact that he wouldn't remember anyway, because it hadn't really been him.

"Yeah?" Patrick says. "Does this mean you want to - do it again?"

"If you do," Jonny says, and hopes that he's telling the truth for this world's Jonny.

Patrick smiles. "Yeah, I - I do."

"Then we will," Jonny says, and spends the rest of the day playing the role of charming new boyfriend. It's odd, how easy it is to slip into that role with Patrick. Jonny doesn't think too carefully about that.

He's happy when he wakes up back in his own world the next day and can just do regular friends things with his Patrick, but he keeps remembering little differences in the way the other Patrick had touched him, in the way they talked to each other. It throws him off balance, and Patrick definitely notices, but doesn't say anything. Jonny's grateful. He doesn't know what he'd say if Patrick asked him what was wrong.

+++

The fourth, fifth, and sixth times Jonny wakes up naked in Patrick's bed, he groans quietly and goes back to sleep without bothering to even look at Patrick. It's honestly not worth the hassle to wake up and deal with another reality that thinks he and Patrick should be banging, and he's found that as long as he falls asleep again completely, he wakes up back at home.

+++

The seventh time Jonny wakes up naked in Patrick's bed, he has tits. He does not handle this well.

Luckily, he catches a break. Patrick rolls over beside him, takes one look at his panicking face, and groans.

"Oh my god, aren't there any other worlds out there where Jonny's a chick?" he says, mostly to the ceiling, Jonny thinks. "They're always so panicked about their dumb dicks!"

"Uh," Jonny says, because just having someone else acknowledge that this is actually happening is stunning. Also, he's pretty sure Patrick would freak out about not having his dick anymore, too, so screw him.

Patrick grins, and Jonny's struck for a minute by how similar this Patrick is to his. But the look on his face is a lot more tender than anything his Patrick shoots Jonny's way. Jonny finds himself inexplicably wishing he could give his Patrick a hug.

"Welcome to your vacation in girl world," Patrick says. "I'll be your tour guide today."

"How often does this happen to you?" Jonny asks. "Do you know how to get it to stop? I always go back to my world for a day, but then the next day I'm somewhere else again."

Patrick's forehead wrinkles in a frown, and Jonny remembers that they're both naked. He pulls the sheets up a bit, trying not to notice much about his new breasts.

"I've never heard of that," Patrick says. "I've visited a few other places, and obviously my Jonny has, too, but it's never been more than once or twice a year."

Jonny huffs out a loud sigh. "Great. So even though you know this happens, you're no help."

"Hey," Patrick says. "Don't be a jerk, man."

Jonny shrugs. "Sorry. Wait – does this mean that your Jonny is visiting my world right now?"

"I don't think so," Patrick says. "We always talk it out afterwards, and so far it's never been a straight swap."

Jonny swallows, relief flooding through him. He doesn't think alternate hims have been populating his own universe while he's away, because his Patrick hasn't said anything, but Jonny's managed to fool all the Patricks he's visited so far except for this one, so he'd been worried that other Jonnys might do the same in his world. He's a little startled when thinking that through doesn't give him a headache; he's far too used to this shit by now.

"Maybe you're supposed to be learning something," Patrick says. His eyes narrow in speculation and drop to Jonny's chest, concentrating. Jonny shivers when he realizes that to this Patrick, it probably doesn't matter that Jonny's covered his chest with a sheet, because he knows what this Jonny looks like naked better than Jonny himself does. "Like how awesome it is to have such perfect tits."

Jonny shoots his best unimpressed look at Patrick and punches him in the shoulder for good measure.

"Sorry, dude," Patrick says, eyes moving back to Jonny's face. "But give me some credit, I usually have permission to stare as much as I want. It's a hard habit to break."

"Well, break it for today," Jonny says.

"Impossible," Patrick replies. "Besides, don't you want to see what it's like on the other side?"

" _What_?" Jonny says, a frisson of heat sparking inside of him. "Is everything about sex to you? Jesus."

Patrick licks his lips, eyes moving down to Jonny's crotch. "I'm a fucking master at that pussy, I swear."

"What about your Jonny? Wouldn't she mind?" Jonny says, swallowing thickly and trying to delay things because he's not at all comfortable with how turned on he feels at the idea of Patrick eating him out.

"Nah, we've got a system," Patrick says, leering a little. "If the you who visits is a douchebag, I'm not allowed to sleep with them. But if you're no more of a jerk than usual, I've got a free pass to teach you about how great your new body is. She does, too."

Jonny swallows. He can feel… something happening down there. He assumes he's getting wet. It's not as different from a hard-on as he would have thought.

"C'mon, babe," Patrick says. "Unless your Patrick will mind?"

"Uh, my Patrick isn't – we aren't – that's not an issue," Jonny says.

Patrick smiles sympathetically. "Oh, sorry. That must suck."

"It doesn't," Jonny says, although he's starting to wonder. "He's my best friend."

"Sure," Patrick says. "Jonny's my best friend, too, but. Wait, I've never had a you visit who wasn't with their own Patrick. Are you sure you actually want to have sex with me and that you don't want to have sex with him?"

Jonny doesn't want to answer that, because the answer is yes, he does want to sleep with this Patrick, and no, he isn't sure of not wanting his own Patrick, and he doesn't know anymore what that means for them.

"Whatever, yeah," Jonny spits out eventually, when his curiosity gets the best of him. "You gonna stop talking any time soon and take this body for a spin or what?"

Patrick gives him a filthy grin and leans in to kiss his neck lightly. "Baby, you're not gonna know what hit you," he says.

Three hours later, Jonny has to concede that multiple orgasms _definitely_ make up for not having a dick, and he has conclusive proof that Patrick's oral fixation is a fixed point in every universe. He's almost sad when he passes out for a post-coital nap, knowing he'll wake up back at home. His last waking thought is how satisfying it is to see Patrick's face like this, happy and flushed and close to his, and how right it feels to have Patrick's fingers scratching gently through his hair.

+++

The eighth time Jonny wakes up naked in Patrick's bed, it's not a bed at all, and he's not actually naked. It's two sleeping bags zipped together, and they're sleeping in sweats and socks and hoodies in some kind of shelter with about twenty other people. It takes Jonny a while, but eventually he figures out that there's been some kind of epidemic followed by another world war in this universe, and things are not in good shape.

Jonny doesn't like to remember that world, but when he does, he pictures Patrick's smile, brilliant and wide even though the whole world was crumbling down around them, like he was happy as long as Jonny was with him.

+++

It keeps happening. Jonny wakes up after each trip and gets one day back in his own universe, but as soon as he falls asleep again, he wakes up in another world. It's different every time, except for the part where he's naked in Patrick's bed. Sometimes they've been together since high school, in a world where they both went to Shattuck. Sometimes they're buddyfucking. Sometimes they're on different teams (and, man, that had freaked Jonny out) but still making it work. Sometimes they're not even hockey players, which isn't something Jonny feels at all comfortable contemplating. If he's not a hockey player, he has no idea who he really is.

As far as he can tell, no other hims have turned up in his own universe, wondering why this Patrick doesn't want to sleep with them. Of course, they might have been able to get by without telling anyone they didn't really belong here. Jonny doesn't get a headache contemplating the existence of multiple realities anymore, but he is driving himself slightly crazy trying to figure out why this keeps happening.

He keeps thinking about the world where his alternate self had been a woman, and what that Patrick had said. Maybe he _was_ supposed to learn a lesson through all of this, or make a certain choice, and that would stop all the bouncing around. But Patrick, and Jonny in Patrick's bed, is the only constant in all of the worlds he's visited, and Jonny's pretty sure the universe wouldn't go to all the trouble of bending the rules of physics to suggest that Jonny get laid.

He has thought about Patrick like that before, though, in his own world. He's never told anyone, much less Patrick. He's barely acknowledged it to himself because it's always seemed like a bomb waiting to go off. If he let himself fall for Patrick, it could jeopardize almost everything in his life. Jonny's never been willing to take the risk - he's only just allowed himself to think about it consciously when forced to by all his alternate universe tours – and he's certainly never thought that Patrick would be interested in even trying.

But all those worlds where he and Patrick had been something more than teammates and friends... It makes him wonder if his Patrick is as content to be just his friend as he seems. It makes him wonder if it would be worth it to ask.

+++

The fourteenth time Jonny wakes up naked in Patrick's bed, it's one of those fancy custom hospital beds, and Patrick is hooked up to a machine that's reading his vital signs.

Jonny swallows and thinks to the universe, viciously, _Okay, I fucking get it, I give up. I swear I'll do something about this, just get me the fuck out of here._

Patrick appears to be sleeping. Jonny avoids looking too closely, because he doesn't want to know any details about this world, just wants to leave it as quickly as possible and never remember it. Jonny closes his eyes, tries to will himself back to sleep, but it doesn't work. Eventually, he gets up and goes to the bathroom, eyes sliding over all the prescription bottles he can see in the medicine cabinet with Patrick's name on the labels. He grabs some Nyquil, takes a full dose, and heads back to the bed. He needs to fall asleep.

+++

Jonny wakes up in his own bed, in his own world, the memory of Patrick looking frail and smaller than usual sticking in his brain. Whatever this universe-hopping is supposed to be teaching him, using that particular world was a low blow, and it makes him furious, but it's also working. He's not gonna let what he wants slip through his fingers here in his universe, not when he can at least try to get it, try to have Patrick.

If it all blows up in his face, at least he won't always wonder what would have happened.

Patrick answers the door in his pajamas, a thin pair of sweatpants and an oversized Hawks sweatshirt. He looks bemused, but not upset, and gestures for Jonny to enter.

"What's up, man?" he asks, leading Jonny back to his kitchen where he'd apparently been in the middle of eating breakfast.

"Oh," Jonny says, belatedly realizing that it's eight in the morning. "Uh, it can wait. Finish eating."

"Want some?" Patrick says, getting another slice of bread out and putting it in the toaster.

Jonny can't actually picture eating right now, but he nods, says "Sure, thanks. Just toast."

They sit and eat in silence, but it's not uncomfortable. Jonny relaxes by degrees, reminding himself that this is Patrick, and while he might make fun of almost everything about Jonny, he's never failed Jonny when it really mattered. He can ask this, Jonny is suddenly sure, and if Patrick doesn't want it, they'll still be okay.

He helps Patrick load the dishes into the dishwasher. Once that's done, Patrick folds his arms over his chest and fixes Jonny with a stern look.

"Out with it," he says. He doesn't look mad, just serious, and Jonny straightens his shoulders, gearing up for honesty.

"I want to date you," he says, and Patrick's mouth drops open.

"What?" Patrick says. "Jonny, are you - "

"I'm not joking, I swear," Jonny cuts in. "I just - we could be really good, I know we could be, and I want you. I want to try."

Patrick is still staring open-mouthed. "I had no idea you were even into dudes."

"I am. Into you, specifically. If - if you want to try, too," Jonny adds. "If you don't, I'll back off, but I had to - "

Patrick pulls him in for a kiss, swallowing the rest of his sentence. It's messy, a rushed frantic thing that feels perfect, and when it gentles into a softer kiss, that feels perfect, too.

Patrick smiles, pulling back a little, keeping his hands around Jonny's neck. His thumb is rubbing under Jonny's ear, and his eyes are getting a little wet in the corners.

"As if I wouldn't want to try," Patrick says, shaking his head.

"Hey," Jonny says. "I didn't know you were into guys either, here."

"I'm not in general," Patrick says. "But I'm into you, so."

Jonny moves in for another kiss, biting at Patrick's bottom lip, running his hands down over Patrick's ass. He's been thinking about this nonstop all day, and now that he's able to touch, he can't get enough. Patrick doesn't pull away. He presses closer, his own hands holding Jonny's back, pushing them together more firmly.

When they finally break apart, Jonny's breathing loudly, and his eyes are glued to Patrick's mouth, red and wet and so expressive. He flashes back to the one time he actually had sex with another world's Patrick. God, he really wants to know if his Patrick is that good with his tongue. He's guessing yes, but he needs to know for sure. He's about to pull Patrick back in and suggest that they move to the bedroom when Patrick puts a hand on his chest and keeps them apart.

"We've got - fuck, Jonny, we've got a game tonight," Patrick says, and Jonny freezes.

"Wait, did you actually forget?" Patrick says. "Fuck, you did! My mouth made you forget we have a game tonight."

He looks absurdly proud of himself, and Jonny can't help the way that expression on Patrick's face makes him want to kiss Patrick again and keep forgetting about the game.

"You're okay," he says instead, and lets the fondness in his tone speak for itself.

Patrick smiles, then looks up at Jonny through his lashes in some kind of calculated move, licking his lips. "Well, just keep that in mind for later. Because we're going to win tonight, and then we're going to come back here and I'm going to show you all the other things I can do with my mouth."

Jonny wants to scoff, wants to make fun of Patrick's little eyelash trick, but he can't. He's too busy trying to get his dick to calm down.

"Deal," he manages to say, hoping like hell that rimming is in his near future. He'll ask for it if he has to. "I'm gonna hold you to that."

The rest of the day is normal, except for the way Jonny keeps meeting Patrick's eyes and remembering his promise, and when Patrick delivers that night, it more than meets Jonny's expectations.

+++

The fifteenth time Jonny wakes up naked in Patrick's bed is the first time he remembers having fallen asleep in it the night before, and he fights the urge to cheer or fist-pump or do something else terribly embarrassing, because he's pretty sure he's beaten the alternate universe bug now. Well, and also because Patrick is smiling up at him with an open, sleepy expression that makes Jonny want to kiss him, and there's nothing that says he can't do just that. So he does.

Patrick surges into the kiss, pushing Jonny on his back and straddling him, and Jonny's never been happier to be himself.

(Jonny never mentions the alternate universe-hopping that got his ass in gear about Patrick, at least not until one day when Patrick wakes up, screams when he sees that Jonny is about to put his hands on Patrick's cock, and won't stop saying "Why do I have a dick?! Jonny, why do I have a dick?" in an increasingly hysterical tone.

Jonny comes clean when his Patrick is back the next day, and it's pretty hilarious hearing about Patrick's trip to a universe where they play roller hockey and Coach Q is a woman. And if Jonny sometimes wishes that he'd been able to visit the world where Patrick is a girl during his travels, just to even things out, well, no one has to know.

He and Patrick do work out their own rules for sex with alternate universe versions of themselves. Some things are too important to leave up to chance.)

[the end.]


End file.
